Originally Posted by
virgo
A bit off thread but the sort of thing that turns up on H & N to make it interesting...........While researching Greenviewpark's query, I came across this :
In "An illustrated History of the RAF" on the subject of the Boston 3.........
"It was the only machine in the RAF in which the pilot was not expected to be the last to bale out; a detachable control column was available in the upper gunner's compartment, in the hope that he could fly straight and level so that the pilot could avoid hitting the very high tailplane, (Does he mean fin ? virgo) after clambering out of his top hatch and diving off the trailing edge of the wing"
Can anyone confirm this, or is it a bit of lineshoot that over the years has become rooted as fact ? (It actually sounds a bit Monty Python !)
Anyone out there actually done it ?????????
There were a couple of other machines during the WWII period whose narrow fuselages made such rudimentary controls an attractive option, the Handley Page Hampden in the UK and the Heinkel He115 both featured basic flight controls for the dorsal gunner, but not to enable the pilot to escape, rather to assist in bringing the aircraft back should the pilot be incapacitated. FWIW I would imagine the dorsal gunners view would be so restricted as to make it impractical.